ThirtyFiveCafe

Hi all,

I've got a ton of slop in my steering. Big surprise. So, I've torn everything down, I have the pins out, gimbal ring out, and steering arms out. The arms have visible wear on them. The pins and gimbal rings do not. I'm told by a gimbal repair guy that most likely the rings are worn. He mentions that I should just barely be able to start the upper pin into the ring and that I should have to hammer it the rest of the way in. Well mine, the pins slide about halfway in, maybe a bit more. My question is - does this mean the ring is bad? I have absolutely zero play between the ring and pin. granted I am not putting any torque on it like a drive does, but there's no play even with the u bolts out. I'd still have to hammer the pins all the way in, plus torque the u bolts.

Given the cost of a gimbal ring, I'm reluctant to just buy replacement or repaired ones. I've seen worn out rings and the square hole is wallered out, oblong, whatever. Mine are as straight and tight as can be. Any thoughts or advice on that? I'd even be ok with replacing the arms and pins, but the cost of the rings is making me seek some opinions.

Last question....if i should only be able to insert the pin just slightly into the ring with the u bolt out before it's tight, couldn't i just heat the top of the ring, run the ubolt down a little tighter without the pin in it to close that gap a little, then I'd have to hammer the pin all the way in? I'm a network engineer by trade so I'm going to analyze everything before I pay for it!

Mr Maine

If there is zero play before you even tighten the ubolt then i think the ring is fine.

picklenjim

Sounds like your slop is elsewhere. Sounds like the gimble ring is fine. Before disassembling it all you should have pin pointed exactly where the slop was at. They changed that upper swivel pin design a few times. The one utilizing the u-bolt uses a upper shaft that has a square connection at the gimble ring and a splined connection at the steering arm. They have attendency to get sloppy in the splines where it connects with the steering arm. The latest design used a square cut connection at this point. Put the pin in a vice and connect the arm and jerk it back and forth to check. Another point is the other end of the arm where it connects to the power steering. Could even be where the cable connects to the steering box at the helm. This is why I was saying you need to pin point where the slop is before disassembling it all. I can tell you this, from what you have said I would think that it is at some point inside the boat and your gimble ring is fine. If it is the splined steering arm connection you could up grade to the newer square cut design.

rufusgrouse

The gimbal ring design (swivel kit) has four variations...shaft is splined/splined....shaft is square/splined....shaft is square/square with a two bolt containment on the gimbal ring...shaft is square/square with a u-bolt containment on the gimbal ring. This last variation is the strongest. The usual problem is that the swivel pin (shaft) wears its way up through the bottom of the upper portion of the gimbal ring and makes proper clearance impossible to obtain (.005). If you have no excess clearance, you likely will need a swivel shaft and tiller (44448a1 kit). The odds that you can just replace the tiller are minimal, as most all I`ve seen, in the condition you describe, have wear on the swivel shaft. Picklenjim is 100% correct that you should check everything else first though. I haven't seen the guy make a mistake yet. www.kcmarinetr.com
If you need a complete swivel kit, it is 42385a7.

ThirtyFiveCafe

Thanks for the replies. I will clarify that I do have the square to square setup and not the splined pins. The boat at some point before me had this repair done as it's got the plugs in the top of the transom assemblies so I did not have to pull the motors. My reasoning for tearing it down is because the bolts holding the bell housing, helmet, whatever you want to call it, were so seized up and corroded that the drives struggled to trim up and down. If I unhooked the tilt rams, I couldn't even lift the drive they were that seized in there. My bellows were also dry rotted, so plenty of reasoning to tear it down. I do have play in the power steering booster or whatever it's called on the transom assembly. The arm that sticks out that looks like a ball joint has slop in it so I plan on replacing it, just cannot seem to find one that fits a TRS setup. Any help there is appreciated.

As for the swivel kit, I am game to replace that. Also need all the bushings and such too, since it's tore down already I'm going to replace them all along with bellows, gaskets, etc of course. Anyone out there have everything I need to so I can 1-stop-shop this and be done?

picklenjim

You can get the parts at any Mercury dealer. They may have to order some but they are available. If you just want to order them online this is the place I usually use. https://www.perfprotech.com/mercury-...993/4794900-up

In the gimble housing diagram you will need parts 3, 4, 5, 6. These are the seals and bearings.
If you need the new shaft and arm they are on the gimble diagram.

Seen the kit on Ebay for about $300 less. #44448A1 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercury-Mari...FVnscG&vxp=mtr

getrdunn

iTrader: (7)

Have that problem on a 24' I have also. Guy I bought it from said it gets squirrelly. I narrowed it down to the bracket arm that comes through the transom and the linkage arm. This thread will help me also. Wanna get taken care of before my 14 yr old son dumps it in the lake.

ThirtyFiveCafe

Thanks for all of the input everyone. All the parts other than the upper swivel pins are here. Two questions. The upper needle bearings in the transom assembly. I pulled the part # of a diagram i saw, got them, and they are tiny compare to what was in there. Can I still get the needle bearing. Many are saying a bushing took the place of it. I'd rather put a bearing back if I could. If someone has a part # that would be great.

Also - on the upper swivel pin, will the pin from a bravo work? I've emailed a few vendors on ebay and websites asking if their items work with TRS setup and I get "they should". Once I have those parts, it can get put back together.

Thanks everyone, lots of great info out here!

picklenjim

You sure about that bearing being too small? You know there are two bearings in there, right? Does it fit on the end of your old swivel shaft? Never heard of a bushing replacing it. I have a new one here still in the pkg. Bearing should be 31-21145. Bravo Swivel Shaft will NOT work! Did you check the kit I posted above that is on ebay? This one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercury-Mari...mtr&rmvSB=true This is a helova deal!

Are you going with the square/square swivel pin? You can't get the others anymore.

ThirtyFiveCafe

I am going with the square / square pin, it's what I had in it. I'm 100% positive on the upper needle bearing. That is the part number I ordered, that's the part # on the package, but it's definitely not what I pressed out of my transom assembly. The one I ordered barely fits on my pinky finger. The upper bearing i pressed out was with a 1" socket just like the lower bearing in the gimbal ring. it's not as tall as the lower bearing but it's roughly the same diameter. They were so corroded I could not read a part number on it anywhere.

As for the pin, if that kit on ebay is what I need, I'll order 2 of them if they have em.